The early dismissal of defender Karl Ready left Aldershot with such a mountain to climb that it seemed a victory of a kind to hold tough Billericay to a goalless draw on Saturday.

"It was disappointing to have a man sent off in such a high-profile game, but there were some great individual performances out there," said Terry Brown, who singled out Jason Chewins and Lee Holsgrove for special praise. "You could see the game meant a lot to them and they both had possibly their best games for Aldershot," said the manager.

Holsgrove, in particular, had something to prove to former manager George Borg, now coach at Billericay, who never played the midfielder regularly at Aldershot.

His astute passing stood out in what was often more like a game of pinball between two fired-up sides, while Chewins was a key figure on the left as Aldershot's 10 men took the game to Billericay after half-time.

It was an absorbing, if niggly contest for the 2,288 spectators. – one that needed a strong man in charge. Unfortunately, although referee Ian Bentley had no alternative but to send Ready off, he got many other decisions wrong. As Brown remarked, the official failed to apply commonsense, preferring to brandish yellow cards when a bit of straight talking might have done the job just as well.

Despite a tally of six yellows and a red, the match was feisty rather than bad-tempered. More unpleasant was the verbal abuse, some crude, handed out to Borg from some Aldershot fans, following the allegations made by him in the media that could lead to his old club taking legal action.

Aldershot came into the game on the back of three consecutive league wins, but their hopes to consolidate their lead were rocked in the fourth minute when Ready reacted to a bad tackle by kicking out at Lee Williams right under Mr Bentley's nose.

Ready had to go, Williams escaped with a caution, and Aldershot's depleted side braced themselves for a heavy Billericay offensive.

But it never really came. Aldershot held the best cards in the midfield game and Dominic Sterling and Anthony Charles performed manfully at the back in the absence of the formidable Ready.

Aldershot, in fact, were first to threaten when Charles directed a cross towards new signing Dwayne Lee, only for Martin Carthy to win a vital header inside the six-yard box.

Billericay, though, had easily the best chance of the half on 20 minutes. On-loan goalkeeper Richard Hurst, hastily signed as cover for the suspended Nikki Bull, was pressured into a mistake by Roy Essandoh and Chris Moore's follow-up shot was about to cross the line when that man Charles miraculously guided the ball over the bar with a leaping back-header.

The Essex side looked to be playing safe at the start of the second half when, after a double substitution, they switched to a five-man defence.

Aldershot, meanwhile, sent on Michael Harper for Paul Moody and the teenage striker could have scored with his first touch, heading wide from Roscoe D'Sane's measured cross.

Hurst had looked shaky early on, but earned his salary with a remarkable save in the 54th minute. Richard Graham's cross found Billericay players queuing up in the box, but Hurst spread himself Schmeichel-like on his line and somehow got a foot to Carthy's close-range header.

Despite this scare, Aldershot had established a good line of supply down the left, thanks to Chewins' constant probing.

They almost broke the deadlock when Holsgrove swept a beautiful pass out to Chewins who, after shaping to cross, whipped in a shot that clipped the top of the crossbar.

At the other end, Hurst made a meal of Richard Graham's cross-shot and the ball squirted along the goal-line before being forced away by Sterling.

These were isolated goalmouth incidents. Mostly it was a tale of two committed sides cancelling each other out in a ferocious midfield battle – but no less engrossing for all that.

Ollie Adedeji was as solid as ever in the Billericay defence, but Mark Graham, another former Aldershot player, struggled to make an impression against Chewins.

Adedeji and Graham played their final match for Aldershot last March when they were sent off for fighting each other on the pitch – at Billericay!

Aldershot: Hurst, Hooper, Chewins, Ready, Sterling, A Charles, Holsgrove, Lee (Roddis 69 mins), Moody (Harper 45 mins), D'Sane (Taylor 88 mins), Buckle. Subs (not used) Gell, Cousins. Booked: Lee, Holsgrove, Sterling. Sent off: Ready.

Billericay: John, Williams, Kerrigan (Campbell 74 mins), Adedeji, Moore, Carthy, Henty (R Graham 45 mins), Essandoh, Wallace, M Graham, Penn (Brennan 45 mins). Subs (not used) Fewings, Fay. Booked: Williams, Penn, Wallace.

Referee: I Bentley.

Attendance: 2,288.